Even if dogs don’t share human emotions, it’s remarkable just how much dogs and other animals can accomplish through affect alone. Many animals can experience unpleasant affect when another animal nearby is suffering. The first animal’s body budget is taxed by the second animal’s discomfort, so the first animal tries to fix the situation.* Even a rat will help another rat who is in distress, for example. Human infants can comfort another infant who is in distress. You don’t need emotion concepts for this ability, just a nervous system with interoception that produces affect.
